Royal Pains
by high improbability
Summary: Mother, about this Dawn brat...ever since you brought her here to advise me, Misty has ruined my year, turned my advisers on me, and turned Dawn into a lovesick idiot with some love potion. What am I doing wrong? -Lucas//Fortuneshipping HIATUS OVER
1. The Letter

**Hi, guys! This idea came to my head when I was reading some romance stories. Hope you enjoy it!****  
**

**Dawn: So, I'm in this story?**

**Me: Yes.**

**Dawn: With Lucas?**

**Me: Yes.**

**Dawn: No. No. NO WAY am I going to be doing it. I don't like Lucas.**

**Me: Too bad 'cause you are. And yes you do.**

**Dawn: Ugh. Could I at least do the disclaimer?**

**Me: Fine.**

**Dawn: AmethystPrincess93 doesn't own Pokemon. Only this story.**

**Me: Okay! Enjoy!**

* * *

Dawn sat on her desk and sighed. She picked up the letter that had she had read so many times since its arrival yesterday.

_Ms. Dawn Yuki,_

_It has been brought to my attention that her Majesty's son, our dear Prince Lucas, has been…misbehaving lately. His grades in his lessons have also been falling. The queen has been doing a search for a suitable guardian for him, and according to the information given to her by her couriers, you are the most suitable adviser to him. We ask that you will accept. If you do accept, the financial reward will be great. Please reply within two days via the Pidgey used to send this letter._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Delia Ketchum_

_Lady-in-waiting to Queen Fiona_

_P.S. If you do accept, please tell us when you can start and one of the servants will come and fetch you._

Dawn sighed again and folded the letter on her desk. She took a handful of Pokemon food from the jar on her window and gave it to the royal Pidgey sitting on the window. It flapped it wings and cooed at the taste of the food. Dawn smiled, but sighed again as she noticed the folded letter.

Sure, the money would be a great help towards her struggling single mother, but she didn't want to leave said mother alone. And spending the next few months looking after a spoiled prince didn't exactly sound like fun.

"Dawn, honey! Dinner!"

Her mother's voice jerking her back to reality, Dawn ran a brush through her navy blue hair and rushed downstairs, the Pidgey faithfully flying behind her.

As she went down the stairs, Dawn thought about how much the previous war had affected her life. Her family had once been rich, but their house had been bombed along with almost all their possessions. When they moved, that house was bombed again. With each bomb hitting their house, they got poorer. Soon, Dawn's father had gotten killed in a bombing, and her mother was struggling to support the two of them.

At the dinner table, Johanna Yuki stared at her daughter with piercing eyes, the family Glameow sitting beside her. Nervous, Dawn looked up at her mother. Johanna's eyes softened.

"You're considering that letter, aren't you, Dawn?"

"Well, yes. The money would help us a lot, but I don't want to leave you here all alone, Mom," Dawn said in one breath.

"Oh, Dawn," Johanna smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, Dawn. And I'm sure you can handle that Prince Lucian or whatever his name is."

"It's Lucas, mom. The letter said so. And if you say so, I'll do it, then."

"Okay, Dawn. Good luck."

xoxoxoxoxox

"You're asking some COMMONER to train _me_? Are you out of your MINDS??" Lucas's voice screamed through the throne room.

For the umpteenth time, Queen Fiona sighed and rubbed her forehead. She turned to her son. "Son, as I have told you, she was NOT a commoner before the war started. She is part of the Yuki family, a family that has been held in high esteem. And she's very firm and hardworking, and from what I've heard, she's pretty, too."

"I don't CARE, mother!" Lucas yelled. "My life is perfectly FINE! I don't need some filthy commoner _babysitting_ me."

His father, King Edward, groaned. "Ever since you've met Lord Reiji's younger brother, your life has NOT been fine. Lord Paul has been an extremely bad influence on you – exposing you to drugs, letting you smoke – and now you're insulting a person you haven't even met yet. I'm surprised Reiji doesn't do anything about it."

"Reiji doesn't do anything about it because it IS fine!"

"No, it isn't, Lucas! Remember, you are the heir to the throne, and you are going to behave yourself."

Lucas opened his mouth and closed it, as if he was about to retort, but simply turned on his heel and walked out of the throne room.

Lucas's little sister, Princess Hayley, started running up to her parents. "What happened to Onii-chan?" she asked innocently.

Her parents sighed before nonchalantly answering, "Nothing."

Suddenly, a royal messenger ran up to them. "The Pidgey has returned, Your Majesties," he said gallantly. Fiona clasped her hands in delight. "Oh," she said, trying to suppress her excitement, "May I read the reply?" "Of course, your Majesty," he said, pulling out a letter from out of nowhere. He handed it to the queen and departed. King Edward dismissed his daughter and turned to his wife.

"What does it say?"

His wife didn't answer, but instead squealed in delight and handed him the letter. He took it and started reading,

_Your Highnesses,_

_I am extremely honored to be offered this position and that I am pleased to tell you that I am to accept. I can start by next week. _

_Sincerely,_

_Dawn Yuki_

"Oh, yes!" Queen Fiona squealed. "Finally Lucas will stop hanging out with Lord Reiji's brother!"

"Calm down, sweetie."

xoxoxoxoxox

_Dear Diary,_

_I wrote this to tell you that I'm going to accept the Queen's offer. I'm going to be leaving for the palace in a week. Of course, I'm going to be taking you with me. I hope that I'll be a good adviser to the prince. Wish me luck!_

_Love,_

_Dawn_

Dawn put down her pen and closed the diary. She turned out the light and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

**Sooo, how'd you like it? And for those who don't know, Reiji is Paul's older brother. Seriously.**

**Dawn: It's okay...I guess. For now. At least there aren't any mushy scenes with me in it.**

**Me: Yet.**

**Dawn: WHAT??**

**Me: Just review, okay? I'm leaving before Dawn starts strangling me.**

**Dawn: You are so...so... EVIL!**

**Me: As I said before, review, please! BYE! **

**Amethyst-chan, signing off. **

* * *


	2. The Palace

**Hi, guys! I FINALLY got chapter two up.**

**Lucas: Long wait, huh.**

**Me: Yup! And I FINALLY got it up!**

**Lucas: The wait wasn't worth it.**

**Me: Be quiet. I'll set Dawn on you.**

**Lucas: You wouldn't!**

**Me: Oh, yes I would. Now do the disclaimer or else.**

**Lucas: Ne - **

**Me: DAWN!!**

**Lucas: AmethystPrincess93 does not own Pokemon! So there!**

**Me: Okay! Thanks! Enjoy the story!**

* * *

**_Chapter Two: The Palace_**

* * *

A chariot hitched to a pair of Rapidash pulled up to the Yuki residence.

_Ding-dong!! _**(A/N: Yes, they had doorbells then…)**

"Oh!" Johanna called from the kitchen. "Dawn, could you please get that?"

"Sure!" Dawn called from upstairs. She bounded down the stairs. It had been a week since she had replied to the queen, and she was excited to go with whoever had come to fetch her. Dawn reached the front door and threw it open.

There stood a boy about seventeen years old, with spiky black hair and a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. He looked at the piece of paper he was holding and asked, "Um, excuse me, is this the Yuki residence? I'm looking for Dawn Yuki."

Dawn giggled. "You're talking to her!" she exclaimed.

The boy blushed, looked up embarrassed, and grinned. "Oh, sorry," he laughed.

Dawn smiled. "So…you're from the castle, right?" she asked. He nodded. "I'm Ash Ketchum. I work at the castle," he replied, sticking out his hand. Dawn shook it, and then thought for a moment. "Ketchum…where have I heard that name…"

Ash grinned. "My mom was the one who sent the letter," he answered. "Oh!" Dawn exclaimed. "Now I remember!"

Just then, Johanna came bustling in from the kitchen. When she saw her visitor, she gasped.

"Oh!" she cried, "You're from the palace, right?" When Ash nodded, she started asking rapid-fire questions at him. "Would you like some bread? Would you like to have some jam with that bread? Or would you rather have some biscuits?"

Ash blushed at the sudden treatment. "I'm Ash Ketchum," he finally said. "I'm here to fetch Dawn?"

Johanna laughed. "Okay then."

But then Ash's stomach rumbled. He blushed, and then said sheepishly, "Maybe some biscuits _would _be nice."

Johanna grinned. "Okay. I'll go get them –"

"_Glameow!"_

The family cat emerged from the kitchen, dragging an empty biscuit packet. Dawn groaned. "Glameow…"

The cat-like Pokemon appeared to grin, and then sauntered off towards the living room.

Dawn sighed, muttered something that sounded like "That cat…" and then turned to Ash. "So, are we leaving now?"

"Well, yes, I suppose…"

Dawn got her things from her room and said a tearful, bittersweet to Johanna. After wiping her tears, she and Ash headed out to the carriage.

As they walked together, Ash got his first good look at Dawn. _Wow, she sure is pretty…_ he thought. But then he mentally smacked himself. _No, no, no, you idiot! You like Misty, remember? _But then he looked over at her again, and he blushed. _But still…_

Dawn looked at him. "Excuse me…" she asked timidly, "Are you okay?"

Ash grinned, embarrassed. "Oh," he smiled, "Sorry."

--

Dawn climbed into the carriage and Ash took the horses' reins. They rode on for quite some time, but Dawn, being the restless person that she is, called up to Ash.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Can I sit up there?"

Ash blushed at the thought of having Dawn sit so close to him. But at the same time pleased, he obliged. He stopped the carriage to help Dawn up.

Once they were riding again, Dawn asked Ash, "So what do you do in the palace?"

Ash smiled. "I'm one of the two supervisors to the prince. The other supervisor and I try to monitor what he's doing, yet lately…" his smile disappeared. Dawn frowned. "How did he start…misbehaving anyway?" she asked. Ash frowned too. "It began just three weeks ago…"

_**FLASHBACK**_

"_Lord Reiji!"_

_Queen Fiona Isabella's voice was heard throughout the throne room, in recognition to one of her favorite, most loyal subjects. _

"_What brings you here?" King Edward asked. (__**A/N: Isabella and Edward… Sound familiar?**__) _

_Reiji smiled. "As you know, your Majesties, I am from a different kingdom,"_

"_Yes, please continue…"_

"_And my brother, Paul, is coming for a visit and I would like to request a personal guide for him – you know, to show him around the kingdom…"_

_Queen Fiona smiled. "But of course, Reiji!" she grinned. "We can't refuse one of our most loyal subjects!"_

_Edward frowned. "And who would you request, dear?"_

"_Why, Lucas, of course!" Fiona squealed. "This will be a great opportunity for him to make friends, and he can get outside, too!"_

"_Uh, dear…"_

"_That settles it!" the queen cried energetically. "Lucas will be one of your younger brother's guides, Reiji."_

_Edward rubbed his hands with his forehead. "Oh, no…"_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"And I guess it started from there," Ash sighed, and turned to the road. "And this is where you come in," he added. "Her Highness thought that someone like you would be…_ideal_ for Lucas."

Dawn thought a minute. "How come you don't call Lucas 'Prince' or anything like that?"

Ash smiled. "I've known Lucas since I was five," he said softly, looking up into the sky while driving the chariot. (**How do people do this?!**) "My father disappeared long ago, and my mother was always busy with palace duties. So the king and queen decided to take me in." He looked down. "Well, here we are," he said.

"The Palace."

Dawn was so absorbed in Ash's tale that she didn't realize that she was right next to the palace. She looked at the grand building, but couldn't stop staring at it. She grinned. "Yeah, it can get breathtaking at times," he said. Then he noticed the guards waiting for them.

"Come on! Let's go!"

Once inside, Ash was greeted by a lovely redhead girl in a swimsuit. "Hey, Ash!" she said, running up to him and blushing. "And this is…" she trailed off when she saw Dawn.

"Oh, heya, Mist," Ash greeted, and then turned to Dawn. "Dawn, this is Misty, Lucas's swimming teacher, and Water-type Master," then he turned to Misty. "Misty, this is Dawn Yuki – the new adviser to the prince," Then he added, "I escorted her from her house."

Misty paled. "E-escorted?" she asked softly.

Ash nodded. He looked over at Dawn, and then blushed. Misty apparently noticed this, then said she glanced at her watch and said she had to leave. And with one last jealous glare at Dawn, she stomped off.

Ash scratched his head. "What's wrong with her?"

--

"Holy cow, this suite is HUGE!" Dawn gasped, dropping her suitcase onto the floor as she stared at her bedroom. There was a queen-sized bed, a HUGE bathroom with an enormous bathtub and an extremely wide range of bath products. The dressing room was a separate room, complete with a humongous wardrobe filled with expensive clothing, and a frilly purple dresser with every kind of face product imaginable.

Dawn almost cried at the sight of her bedroom. "Oh, they shouldn't have," she said, jumping into Ash's arms. Ash turned a million different shades of pink. "Well, I-I guess I should l-leave you, then," he stuttered. Then he left, leaving the girl to admire her new living quarters.

--

"Hm, you weren't lying, Misty," Sabrina said through her telescope. The Psychic-type expert a.k.a. one of Misty's best friends was also an expert spy…and an expert on love – although this was mostly through teleportation and reading other people's minds and knowing what they think. "He likes her."

Misty glared at the newcomer. "If that Dawn person touches a SINGLE hair on his head, I swear I'm gonna…"

Her dark-haired companion sighed. "Cool it, Mist. You don't want to get to obvious. Obvious jealousy is a bad thing."

--

_Knock, knock_.

"Coming!" Dawn called, her voice coming from the dressing room. _Since it's my first day here, _she had thought, _I might as well wear something special. After all,_ she added, _I am meeting the Queen, King, Prince, Princess, and the two supervisors, so why not dress up a little?_ Then a thought struck her. _Wait, who is this other supervisor anyway?_ She dismissed the question, and put on a salmon pink cocktail dress. She removed her hat and put her hair into a ponytail.

_Knock, knock._

"Ugh. Okay, okay," Dawn said, "I'm coming." She rushed to her door and opened it.

"_Damion?!"_

The blond boy looked as surprised to see her, then quickly recovered. "Dawn?!" he yelped. "Oh, Arceus! What on EARTH are doing here?!" But Dawn didn't have time to answer as she tackled her childhood friend into a hug. "Hey!" he cried. "Gerroff! You'll get our clothes dirty!

Dawn giggled then stood up. "You mean you didn't know, Damion?" she asked, helping her friend up.

"Know what?" he asked.

"That _I'm _the new adviser to the prince?"

Damion blushed. "Well, I was away on business in King Drew's kingdom, so…"

"Oh," came the reply, then Dawn perked up. "Anyway, I missed you so much since you left, Damion! How come you never wrote back since you started working at the palace?"

Damion looked away so that his childhood friend wouldn't see his red face. He had liked Dawn for so long, but his dad _had_ to go and enlist him to work at the palace… But imagine! He didn't have to worry! Dawn was _here, _at the palace, _right where he worked!_

Then he remembered something. "Oh, Dawn," he said, touching her shoulder and instantly turning pink, "We...you have to go see the prince now."

"Oh!" Dawn said. "Sorry," she added, grabbing his arm. "Let's go!"

--

"What do you see, Sab? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Misty and Sabrina were once again spying on Dawn, but this time, Whitney, the Normal-type master and dairy supervisor, Winona, one of the bird keepers and a Flying-type expert, and Erika, master grass trainer and perfume manufacturer, had insisted on coming along.

"Hmm…" replied the resident psychic. "I think that Damion person likes her."

"Really?" Whitney spoke up. "How do you know?"

"Because I read his mind. And he was saying something like, '_Thank goodness! I can be with Dawn again!_' or something like that."

Misty put on a devilish smile. "So he likes her, eh? I can use that to my advantage…"

Erika spoke up softly. "I have a love potion somewhere that may be of assistance," she said.

"Great! We can use that!"

"But we have to make sure that he really, REALLY likes her," Erika replied. "I only have enough for one use.

"If I use my psychic powers all the time, it'll tire me out and I can't help you too much," Sabrina added, turning to the swimming teacher.

"Altaria can spy on them," Winona said, speaking for the first time. Winona was one of the resident bird keepers along with her boyfriend, Falkner. "We could arrange for the two of them to go outside, and we can pretend Altaria was a cloud or something."

"Brilliant as always, Winnie," Whitney said, smiling.

--

Dawn shifted uneasily in her dress, and squeezed Damion's hand. He squeezed back. She smiled at Ash at the other side of the room, and he grinned right back. But still, she felt impatient. The royal family was sure taking their time.

Suddenly, trumpets started playing. Then a messenger stepped forth.

"Presenting, the Royal Family!"

_Finally,_ Dawn thought. Her dress was starting to get itchy. She watched as the long, slow procession to the thrones took place. When it was finally over and everyone was gone except for the royals, herself, Ash, and Damien, she felt a strong sense of relief.

She approached the family, and after some persuading, the King made Lucas get up and approach her in turn.

Dawn smiled sweetly at him, then curtsied. The King, Queen, and Princess looked delighted. Lucas frowned. Dawn stuck out her hand. "I'm Dawn," she said softly.

LUCAS'S POV

Okay, the world has seriously gone crazy. First, my parents hire some (censored word), filthy commoner to _baby-sit me_. Does the world know who I AM? I'm Lucas, Prince of Sinnoh, for Pete's sake!

Second, the commoner _has _to be a girl. Please. A girl! PAUL can baby-sit me better than a girl.

Third, it looks like my family absolutely _adores_ this Dawn person. How annoying. Although I have to admit, she is kind of pretty…OK, wait. What AM I saying?!

Fourth, she's actually expecting me to hold her hand. _Me_! Me, a prince, touch a _commoner_'s hand? This girl must be crazy.

And fifth, pink is NOT her color.

END POV

Dawn held out her hand expectantly, a sweet smile on her face. Altaria was hanging from a window, pretending to be a cloud, so it could report what was happening to its trainer. Lucas sniffed the air. "What IS that smell?" he asked detestably. "Did you remember to take a bath, _commoner_? Oh, and I don't shake _filthy _people's hands," he added. "Especially when they have _filthy _fashion sense.

Dawn put her hand down indignantly. "Well, excuse me," she said, "I don't care if you are a prince, I don't care if you are royalty, I DON'T care if you're above me in the sociality department, all I care about is my JOB! And you are acting like a spoiled brat, which is what I am here to correct. So you'd better watch your mouth!"

Dawn stopped, amazed at her own courage. She immediately became flustered, waiting for their reaction. Ash and Damion were giving each other nervous looks.

Lucas's mouth flew down. Nobody besides his parents had ever talked back to HIM! And the first person who had to do it was this filthy commoner. He frowned, and then looked at his parents, fervently hoping that because of her tirade she would be fired. But no.

They were smiling.

His little sister Haley started the applause, then her parents followed. "Brilliant!" King Edward cried. "Best entertainment in years!"

"Yeah!" Haley called. "Nobody ever tried doing that to my big brother!"

"Agreed!" Fiona almost shouted. "You're on the right track, Dawn," she added kindly. "You are excused. Ash, Damion, take her back to her room," she called.

Relief washed over the blue-haired girl. She grinned at them as she linked arms with the two supervisors and walked out of the throne room.

--

**Phew, that was long. Sorry for any mistakes that I might have made. I was writing this in a hurry! :P**

**Anyway, please R&R!**

**Amethyst-chan, signing off. **


	3. The Potion's Complications

**I am so proud of myself! Five stories and a new chapter in three days!**

Paul: Whatever.

**It won't work this time, Paul, since I'm such in a good mood!**

Paul: Hmph.

**Anyway, I don't own Pokemon, and please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Misty restlessly paced around the water-themed bedroom, an angry scowl that would make Lance want to cower on her face.

Sabrina concernedly looked at her friend. "Misty, if you're just going to pace around like that, we're never going to enjoy this slumber party," she said.

"Yeah," Roxanne called from the waterbed. A Rock-type master, she was one of the advisers to the princess. "If you're just going to mope around then we might as well leave."

Misty muttered some words that should NEVER be repeated out loud, and then turned to her friends, her face on the verge of tears. "So what?" she wailed. "It's _her _fault. That Dawn girl. She had to come in with her perfect blue hair and take away Ash's heart. It's all over!" and she burst into tears.

As Erika and Sabrina leaned over to comfort their crying friend, Winona's eyes suddenly lit up. She dashed to the window and smiled. "Guys!" she called. "Altaria's back!"

**TEN MINUTES LATER…**

"So you're saying he likes her?" Sabrina interrogated. "As in LIKE like?"

The Flying-type nodded. Ten seconds later, the girls burst into happy cheers. After a "Whoopee!" and a "Hurrah!" the door opened. Everyone froze. Falkner was standing in the doorway in his favorite robe, a sleepy look on his face.

"What's going on?" he yawned. "I heard some screaming and I thought that –"

But Winona cut him off. "Oh, nothing, dear," she said sweetly, pushing her boyfriend out the door. "We were just having a little girl talk."

"Okay," the girls heard Falkner say as he walked to him room. "But PLEASE try to keep it down."

"Okay!" Winona called after him. But it wasn't long after he'd left that the girls erupted into cheers once again.

--

Lucas sat up in bed, unable to sleep. He heard footsteps in the hall but it was probably the courtiers. He knew that if he complained that his pillow was too lumpy they'd race to the Pillow Room and get him one made of goose down. But it wasn't this that annoyed the prince.

It was HER.

That new consort-whatever to him – yes, that Dawn girl. It was so annoying that she had to go and insult him. Did she know who HE was? He was Lucas, Prince of Sinnoh, for Pete's sake!

He heard screams erupt from downstairs, probably his swimming teacher and her crazy friends. But that didn't bother him. It was the fact that he knew Misty hated HER that made him smile evilly. Oh yes – he'd get his revenge yet.

--

Damion lay down in bed, his eyes to the cream-colored ceiling, trying to get his thoughts straight. Sure, he was pleased that she, Dawn, his childhood friend, had come to work at the palace. He hadn't seen even a glimpse of her after that fatal day…

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Palmer clapped his hand onto his son's back. "Congratulations, son," he said proudly. "I got you to work at the palace!"_

_Damion's mouth dropped open. He wondered if he'd heard right. "Huh?"_

"_Why, didn't you hear me, boy?" his father asked. Damion shook his head. "Well, I just got you work at the palace!"_

_The painful words wouldn't leave Damion's head. Palace. He knew that if you worked at the palace, you couldn't leave until you were twenty-one. But he was only fourteen! That meant seven years of hard work – seven years of not seeing his friends, his family, and most of all, her. _

_As if on cue, Dawn came barreling towards him. Palmer nervously left, leaving his son to tell her the news._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

_That was three years ago,_ he thought.

Deciding that he would be unable to sleep anyway, he went over to the bed on the other side of the room and shook the person in it awake.

"Psst. Ash."

"Huh?" Ash mumbled. "W ha – Where's my triple-calorie-strawberry-and-chocolate fudge ice cream sundae?"

"Idiot," Damion muttered. "It's me. DAMION."

"Oh," Ash mumbled. "Sorry."

"A-anyway, Ash, I need to talk to you," he gulped.

"About what?" his companion asked curiously.

"About…" Damion started. "…Dawn."

Ash's eyes snapped open.

"Who?" he asked. "Why?"

Damion gulped. "…Dawn," he whispered.

"Why?" Ash asked bluntly.

"I-it's because we're childhood friends," the blonde boy replied.

Ash calmly nodded, but inside he wasn't so calm.

_Childhood friend? _He thought. _Drat. That gives me a HUGE disadvantage against Damion for…Dawn. Wait! Snap out of it, Ash! You like Misty! Misty, Misty, MISTY!!_

"Hello?" Damion asked, waving a hand in front of the Pikachu trainer's face. "Earth to Ash."

Ash blushed. "Sorry, Damion," he replied. "I was just...thinking."

Damion sighed again. Ash wasn't going to be any help. So he just said good night to a very clueless Ash, and went back to sleep.

--

Dawn couldn't sleep either. (**A/N: Geez…**) Irritated by the screams below her, she grabbed her diary and began to write…

_Dear Diary,_

_It's me, Dawn. Bored, irritate, prince-insulting Dawn. And yes, you heard right. I DID insult the prince. On my first day! (Frankly, I think he deserved it...Ssh!) And, oh, Damion is here! I couldn't believe it! I missed him so much…but he seemed a little…different today. He was quieter and more tight-lipped. Maybe palace work did that to him! Hopefully not, because I'll be working here for some time too…_

_Love,_

_Dawn_

--

Misty slyly slinked around the study room, searching for Lucas. She found him, poring over his Pokémon lessons with Professor Oak.

"Now, Lucas," the Professor was saying, "Eevee can evolve into seven different Pokémon. These are Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Umbreon, Espeon, Leafeon, and Glaceon. What does an Eevee have to do to evolve into Flareon?" he asked.

"Fire stone," the prince muttered.

"Vaporeon?"

"Water stone."

"What about Jolteon?"

"Thunder stone."

"Good, good," Professor Oak commented before asking about Umbreon and Espeon.

"Reach maximum happiness during day or night," Lucas groaned. "Day you get Espeon and night you get Umbreon."

"Leafeon."

"Level up at Moss Rock."

"Very good, Lucas," his teacher said. "What about Glaceon?"

"Level up at Ice Rock," Lucas frowned, close to losing his temper.

"Very good," the professor repeated. "Now, let's move on to history. Sir Aaron was a very important person in history…"

"ARGH!" Lucas screamed. "WHO CARES!"

Professor Oak looked shocked and was about to retort before Misty intervened.

"Professor," she asked politely and sincerely, "May I please excuse Lucas from your, err," she paused, trying to search for a word that wasn't similar to boring, "…interesting lesson?"

"B-but of course, Miss Waterflower," the professor stuttered. "I-I needed to see Professor Elm about Eevee anyway…" he added, trailing off and walking away.

Lucas muttered something like, "Old man," before turning to Misty.

"What do you want?" he asked, frowning. "Do I have to go to the pool and perfect the _freaking _butterfly stroke?"

"Oh, no, nothing, just a little favor, Your Majesty," the swimming teacher replied sweetly.

"What?" he scowled.

"Well," Misty said evilly, "I know you hate Dawn. So do I. Let's just say I know how to rid you of your troubles about her…"

--

Dawn took a slow walk around the garden while waiting for the prince. She was just admiring the beautiful roses when a voice called to her.

"Miss Yuki!"

Dawn turned around. Princess Haley was running towards her, followed by a girl with short, spiky, red hair.

"Miss Yuki," Haley greeted again.

"Haley!" Dawn laughed. "Why aren't you at the palace?"

"Well, mother wanted me to introduce to you your personal servant so here I am!" she turned to the redhead. "Dawn, this is Zoey."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Yuki," Zoey greeted politely.

"Pleased to meet you too," Dawn laughed. "And you can call me Dawn, Zoey," she added. "The whole 'Miss Yuki' thing makes me feel uncomfortable."

Zoey laughed. "Sure," she said.

"I have to be going now," Haley suddenly said. "See you, guys!"

--

Lucas almost laughed sadistically. This plan was ingenious! All he had to do was sit and talk with Dawn. Then, he had to distract her while Misty snuck Erika's love potion into her drink. And, hey presto, she'd be so infatuated with _Damion_ that she would abandon her job and get fired!

He would never complain about the butterfly stroke again.

"Now remember," soft-spoken Erika was saying to Misty. "This is only for one drink, and you have to make sure that Damion will be the first person she sees when she wakes up. Don't waste it. It took me three years to make that."

"Of course, Rika," Misty grinned. This was going to be _fun_.

Haley carefully stopped watching the two young women and worriedly looked around. "I have to warn Dawn," she said, before ducking out of sight.

--

"Lucas!" Dawn cried. "Put that bottle of beer down RIGHT NOW!"

"Why?" he scoffed.

She frowned. "You'd think royalty would at least like wine over beer," she muttered.

Lucas looked 'delighted.' "Wine?" he said. "Well, why didn't you say so?" He turned to Misty, who just happened to be 'conveniently' nearby. "Get me some two glasses with wine in them," he said to her and winked. She 'obediently' obeyed.

"Hey!" Dawn protested. "I don't want wine!"

"Please?" Lucas asked, 'begging.'

Dawn sighed. "Fine."

The prince looked 'delighted' again. "Oh, here it is," he said, getting the wine glasses from Misty. The redhead beckoned him forward, and whispered which glass the potion was in. Lucas grinned, and handed it to Dawn.

She took it from him, and slowly raised it to her lips.

Slowly…

Slowly…

Lucas watched with pleasure as the glass touched Dawn's lips. Only a few more seconds…

"Dawn!" Haley screeched, running up with Damion behind her. "Don't drink that!"

"Huh?" Dawn shrieked, and in surprise almost dropped the glass. But in surprise the liquid flew up in the air and landed on…

Her lips.

Suddenly, everything felt like it was spinning. Dawn's vision was fading in and out, when finally everything went black.

Lucas nearly shrieked with joy as Dawn crumpled to the ground. He grabbed Misty's hand and nearly did the tango.

Damion and Haley concernedly went over to their friend. Damion sighed. "This can't get any more complicated…"

Misty and Lucas watched behind a bush as Dawn awoke. She turned, her face facing towards them. Misty signaled Lucas to duck, but he was too excited to. Dawn opened her eyes.

"Lucas…?"

* * *

**Ooh, twist! Of course, Lucas is, well, Lucas so his plan was destined to get more complicated!**

Lucas: Hey!

**Me: (grin) Anyway, thanks for reading, guys, and please review!**


	4. The Antidote

**I am SO sorry this took so long, but I was busy with school and all, and...**

**Anyway, I don't own anything. Please enjoy!

* * *

**_**PREVIOUSLY…**_

_Misty and Lucas watched behind a bush as Dawn awoke. She turned, her face facing towards them. Misty signaled Lucas to duck, but he was too excited to. Dawn opened her eyes._

"_Lucas…?"_

**LUCAS'S POV**

This is not happening. _Please_ tell me this is not happening.

I look at Misty. I know she's as shocked as I am, but she doesn't show it. Instead, I see a look of sheer pleasure on her face. Traitor.

**NORMAL POV**

"Dawn!" Damion cried worriedly, on the verge of tears. "Dawn, please wake up!"

Much to Damion and Haley's relief, Dawn stood up, albeit rather shakily. However, she took no notice of them and went straight for the bushes.

"Dawn?" Haley asked worriedly, shaking the girl. "Are you okay?" But Dawn merely pushed her off and headed straight.

"Dawn!" the princess's companion cried. "Dawn, what's wrong?" But his childhood friend simply ignored him.

---

"Misty?" Lucas called, trembling. "Misty, was this supposed to be the plan?"

His swimming tutor shook her head. But the prince could see that she wasn't afraid. In fact, she looked rather pleased.

"Misty!" he almost screamed before Misty acknowledged him.

"PLEASE tell me this is just a joke," he pleaded.

"Oh, this is no joke," she said sweetly. "In fact, this is MUCH better than her having a crush on Damion."

"Traitor!" he screamed at Misty's departing figure. He turned around, terrified, to see Dawn with an almost eerie smile on her face. Afraid, he ran towards the palace.

---

"ERIKA!" Lucas screamed, barging into the gardener's room.

The silent girl looked up and smiled. "Your Highness," she greeted politely. "How are you doing?"

He frowned. "Cut the crap, Erika," he leered. "_What_'s going on?"

Erika blushed. She had a feeling she knew what he was going on about. But she held her ground. "With whom?"

He frowned.

"Miss Yuki, then," she 'concluded.'

"Yes," he scowled, barricading the door. "I'm sure _you _know. Anyway, the operation went berserk and now she's all lovesick all over me!"

The usually serene young woman stood up indignantly, quite forgetting she was in the presence of royalty. "You wasted my love potion?" she almost screamed. "Do you know that it took _three _years of _perfect care _just to perfect and prepare that thing? And what do you do? You waste it!" she cried, pausing for breath. "You waste my precious love potion!"

She ranted and raved for a while, but only before the prince grabbed her by the shoulders. "For Arceus's sake, just LISTEN!"

Erika looked startled, then cleared her throat, clearly ready to listen. "All right, then," she sputtered, trying to catch her breath. "C-carry on, Your Highness."

"Good." Lucas gestured for her to sit, and he sat down on her bed. "I need you to prepare another love potion."

The perfume manufacturer blushed again. "I could do that, but – "

Lucas cut in. "Yes, yes, I know you can. But I need it NOW."

"But – three years –"

"Can you make it by Saturday?"

"Y-your Majesty…"

"Good. Then…"

"YOUR MAJESTY!!!" she screamed, then blushed. The prince looked indignant. "What?!"

Erika cleared her throat. "Well, what I was going to say was that love potions usually wear off in one year."

Lucas's mouth fell open, but he closed it and said, "So I'm going to have a lovesick stalker for the next year?" When the pretty gardener nodded, he added, "Create an antidote, then," as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Erika groaned. She was _seriously _getting exasperated. In fact, she was wondering why she didn't just quit. Oh, yeah. It was because she couldn't find another job and she couldn't leave until she was twenty-eight because her parents got her _another _seven-year contract. Brilliant.

"Well?"

She suppressed an inward scream. Stupid kid. She just wanted to yank that _stupid _red beret off his _stupid _black-blue-haired head, throw it on the _stupid _ground, and step on it with her _not-so-stupid _shoe. (Hey, a girl can't insult her own fashion sense!) She wanted to grab his _stupid _shirt, never mind if it was made from _stupid _silk from _stupid _silkworms all the _stupid _way from Japan.

Breath in, breath out.

But still, she wanted to do it so _badly_.

But _if _she did, she would be _fired. _Lucas would find a way to make it happen – he had the "power" to do it, according to she didn't want that to happen. If it did, then no money would go towards her grandmother's medicine…

Luckily, she didn't have to, because at that moment Damion marched into the room with a "I knew you'd be in here!" and did it for her. Yes, the whole beret and shirt thing. And just so you know, he _did _have the "power to do it," being the supervisor and all.

Lucas looked like he was about to cry. "B-but that was made from Shetland yarn and Japanese silk!" he wailed.

The blonde snorted. "Oh, how fascinating. I suppose I wouldn't care either if your freaking shirt was a gift from the Queen of England."

"But it was!"

He groaned and was about to bite back when little Haley dashed into the room. "Big brother!" she cried. "What did you do to Dawn-chan?! Mommy's away and Daddy's busy and Zoey's getting frantic and…"

"Stop."

Haley looked at her brother. "But big brother…"

"Stop it, Haley!" he cried. "I don't believe you! Of all people, you choose _not _to support you own brother. Instead, you choose to support _her_."

Haley looked like she was about to cry. Erika leaned forward. "Oh, Haley…"

But Haley swatted the gardener away and turned to glare at her brother. "Meanie," she spat out before she left the room.

"Ooh, she is _so _gonna get it…" the prince mumbled as he stomped out after his sister.

Damion sighed. "Well, I suppose you can't help me now," he said as he turned to leave.

Erika sucked in her breath. Either way, Lucas wouldn't know, right? "Wait."

She saw his blonde head move and his orange eyes look straight into hers. "Yes?"

She sighed. "There _is _a way to revert the love potion," she whispered. Damion's eyes gleamed. "Well? Tell me tell me tell me!"

Erika nodded. "Sure, but you're not going to like it."

"I will!" he cried. "I will like it. As long as it'll help Dawn as soon as possible."

"Are you sure?"_ He really likes her_, she thought. _I wish I'd find a guy like that._

When he nodded, Erika breathed in and said in one breath:

"To counter the potion's effects, the victim has to be kissed on the lips by the one he or she fell in love with."

* * *

**Ooh, twist!!!**


	5. The Aftermath

**HUZZAH. HIATUS OVER.**

Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat. Over the past – what, two years? – my plot bunnies have started giving birth again! And I will say that over the past year(s) my writing has improved a little, so…I…yeah.

And to any clarifications, this not based off the **manga**, it is based off the **anime**, where Lucas has no personality so I just gave him the spoiled brat thing. Also this is AU so personalities had to be tweaked to adjust to the new universe.

As to Misty, I decided to give her some backstory to explain her horrible attitude.

And, yeah. I'll try updating regularly from now on.

* * *

_This is not happening._

_This is NOT _fucking_ happening_.

Damion stared at Erika, disbelief and shock written on his face. _Impossible_.

"I-Impossible," he croaked out. "Impossible," he repeated, as if trying to make himself believe it. "S-surely, Erika-san, there is another way?"

Erika looked him in the eye. "The only other way is to wait out the full year for it to wear off, Damion-san," she replied. "I had it specially designed that way."

Lucas looked just as unhappy. "I refuse to accept this," he demanded. "I demand another way."

"That would be impossible."

"B-but then…" Lucas trailed off. "I'd have to…" With that, he stormed off, a horrified look on his face.

_You damn bastard. You have no idea how lucky you are._

Damion clenched his fist. This is not happening, he repeated, this is not happening. Misty had just initiated a game of love and war with two possible outcomes, and in either situation, Damion was the loser. Either he watched Dawn obsess over that snobbish undeserving prince for the next three hundred and sixty five days, not sparing a single glance for him, or he would watch her get kissed by someone else – the same snobbish undeserving prince.

Erika looked away. "I'm sorry, Damion-san," she said softly. "I was so proud of that potion, and so proud of Misty. If only I knew what she would use it for…" she trailed off and stared at her shoes, trying to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks.

_No, _Damion wanted to say, _it's not your fault. It's mine. I should have kept a better eye on her_. But he couldn't bring himself to say it, and Erika looked up, crying, to see an empty space in front of her and the door slamming.

She was alone.

Again.

* * *

Lucas stormed into his room. _Fired_, he thought, _fucking FIRED _is what that stupid swimming teacher of his was going to be. God, this was awful. How did everything somehow manage to backfire on him? Why did he have to get some teacher who was sure to betray him? He was so never asking God for anything again.

"Lucas?"

He looked up. Ash. One of his advisers, and, in truth, one of his only friends. Ash had stuck by him through thick, thin, and all in between. In all honesty, he was one of few people outside of the royal family permitted to call Lucas by just his name. Lucas felt a smile tugging at his lips. "Hey."

The boy frowned. "You okay? You look down."

Lucas didn't answer.

"Hey, Lucas," Ash piped up again, "It's Misty, isn't it?"

The prince looked up, shocked. "H-how did you – " then stopped. He knew Ash and Misty were close. Perhaps Ash knew more than he was letting on. "Come on, Ash," he pressed. "Tell me."

Ash looked down. "She asked me a few minutes ago," he replied. "She asked me if I liked Dawn or not."

Lucas's eyes widened; and he realized that below the sunny, talented Water trainer he had known was a scheming, jealous little girl.

He wondered if he and Misty had more in common than he thought.

"Anyway," Ash continued, "I told her I didn't know, and then, she got kind of mad," he paused, and rubbed his cheek. "She started crying for a minute, then stopped and told me that she had a secret to tell me, and it involved you and Dawn."

Lucas's eyebrows shot down considerably fast. "Go on."

"She said that you – and her – " Ash gulped. "Are you in love with Dawn-san, Lucas?"

"What?" Lucas nearly screamed. "No! That scheming little – how dare she spread rumors about me?"

Ash looked away. "I don't know," he whispered quietly. "I barely even know her anymore."

* * *

"Dawn-san, before I leave, there's a visitor for you." Zoey's voice wafted over to Dawn's ears. Dawn grinned. "Is it Lucas?"

A pause. "I'm afraid not, Dawn-san."

She sighed. "Oh, well." Some things just couldn't be helped. "Send them in anyway."

Zoey smiled and opened the door, letting the visitors in while leaving. "Hi, Dawn!" Haley came barreling towards her, encasing the older girl in a hug. "Are you okay, now?"

"Haley! I'm fine, I guess," Dawn laughed, then paused. "Where's your brother?"

Haley stiffened, and Damion clenched his fist. "I'm afraid he's not here, Dawn," he found himself saying. His heart dropped a whole flight of stairs as he watched Dawn's face fall.

"That's too bad," she murmured. "I really wanted to see him, too…"

She looked down, and Damion could only stare at her with sorrowful orange eyes.

"Misty—"

Said water trainer stopped her pacing and turned to stare at the person who had interrupted her pacing. "What?"

Winona looked at Flannery, and Flannery looked at Winona. Roxanne bit her lip and stared at her feet. Sabrina suddenly found the window to be very interesting.

Misty glared at them. "Well? If you're going to interrupt me, you might as well say something!"

Winona looked at her with eyes that could only be called _sympathetic_, and said, "Misty, we don't think you should continue on with this."

Misty stopped. "What? Why?"

Flannery took up the conversation. "Misty, what you did – we don't think you should leave it as it is."

"Yes…Misty," Erika quietly replied, the salty liquid in her eyes threatening to spill. "What you did…it's hurting so many people."

Damion.

Ash.

Lucas.

Haley.

Herself.

Misty turned to look at her friends with big, sad blue eyes. "What can I do?" she whispered thickly. "What else can I do? Ash is – " she trailed off. "Are you all going to abandon me, too?"

"We won't," Whitney said weakly. "For now. We'll always be your friends, Misty. But if you don't try to do anything about the problem you've created…"

"…we might just leave you, too." Sabrina continued firmly, looking Misty in the eyes. "Think about it, Misty." With that, she swept out the door, a sobbing Erika, a depressed-looking Whitney and Flannery, a nervous Roxanne, and a silent Winona following after her. "Good night, Misty."

Misty stared as the Flying-type Master closed the door after her.

She never wanted this to happen. Not again.

_

* * *

_

"_Daisy, Daisy, where's Mommy and Daddy?"_

_All three of her sisters turned to face the little girl, and looked away. Daisy bit her lip. Lily looked like she was about to cry. Violet suddenly found the carpet to be incredibly interesting. "Misty-chan," Daisy murmured, picking her up and cuddling her, tears spilling down her cheeks. "They…left."_

"_Will they be back soon?" Misty inquired innocently. "I want to show them the drawing I made!"_

_Violet smiled thinly. "They won't be coming back for a while, Mist," she said softly. _

"_Why not?" Misty asked. "Hey, hey, Daisy? Lily? Violet?" she suddenly asked."Why are you guys crying?"_

_Daisy turned Misty's body and looked her in the eye, gulped, and told her the truth._

* * *

"_Why can't I be a part of your little ballet group?" Misty fumed indignantly. "I'm just as sensational as you are!"_

_Lily looked bored. "First rule, Mist. Sensational Sisters have to be _pretty_."_

"_But__—__"_

"_Ta-ta, Misty!" Daisy grinned and winked at her. "We have to go and practice!" With that, she swept out the door, Lily and Violet trailing behind her._

* * *

"_Did you go see the Sensational Sisters' latest show?"_

_Misty turned to see two schoolgirls, probably about her age, talking behind her. Ugh. This was her last day before she went to work at the Sinnoh Palace, so why did they have to spoil it by bringing her sisters up?_

"_Yeah!" the other one exclaimed excitedly. "It was so cool! All three of them are so pretty!" Don't bring it up, please, Misty was thinking._

"_I would love to be related to them!" the first one suddenly cried. "Imagine, you get the glory of being their sister!"_

No, _Misty thought, tears flowing down her cheeks. _No, no you wouldn't. You would be ignored, dear. Too much.

* * *

Montage after montage.

Image after image.

Stupid memories. Stupid sisters.

Stupid Ash, you idiot.

Stupid Dawn, having to ruin everything.

Stupid Lucas, not doing what I tell him to.

Stupid world.

Misty cried herself to sleep that night.

* * *

Thank you to anyone who still reads this.


End file.
